I'm accepting the fact that I will not be able to BF. I'm not quite 28 weeks along, but I need a mastectomy and radiation very shortly after delivery. So BF is off the table. (More because of the XRT, but even one-sided would probably be tough). Trying very much to let go of the guilt. Enough about that.

Anyway, Baby Bargains likes both Avent and Dr. Brown's. I have sisters/friends who have used one or the other. Dr. Brown's looks like it'll be trickier to clean, with all of those extra parts. I do like that they have the shorter, wider bottles now. However, I'd be interested to hear if anyone liked them head-and-shoulders above Avent. I'd be willing to do the extra parts-wrestling if they make that much of a difference. We haven't registered yet, so I'm trying to get some real-mom opinions before we put one on the list.

Cookie--no guilt! You are doing everything to take good care of your baby and yourself. Enough said.

I ended up exclusively pumping for DS because of a latching issue and my LC recommended the Playtex VentAire bottles (wide, slow-flow). We had really good luck with them. They vent air out the bottom to help lessen gas and spit-ups. Just another bottle to consider if you're open to it.

Hi there! My DS wouldn't take Dr Browns for some reason (a lot of people like them though).. or at least not efficiently.. seemed like he struggled with those nipples. He does Awesome with the born free bottles though and I have a few friends that recommended those to me too. Have you looked at those too? I love them and they aren't hard to clean, not too many parts! that being said, we also have 2 avent bottles and he does pretty well with those too.. they have very few parts and are super easy to clean. The nipples are similar on the Born Free and the Avent which is why i think he does well with both of those! By the way.. the Born Free Nipples don't jump up in size as quickly as the avent.. he's still on the level ones which are 0-3 months and he is 3 months and 2 days old right now. On the avent though, he's already moved from level 1 to level 2.

I'll look into the Playtex & Born Free, too. Gosh, I thought I had it narrowed down already! Thanks though. It's good to know there are options. Obviously, there's always a chance I could pick wrong, and DS will have his own ideas. But, we'll cross that bridge when (if) we come to it.

I bottle fed my twins - we ended up using Dr. Brown's because someone recommended them. I was going to use Playtex and a night nurse told me she hated those inserts because it was hard to see how much the baby had taken while you were feeding him/her. I'd get the ones that are easier to clean - this from a person who had to clean 16 bottles a day for twins!!Only buy a few of whatever you choose and if your baby doesn't like them you can buy another type.And good lord - NO GUILT. I have many friends who didn't nurse for far less serious reasons - including "yuck, I have no interest in that."I bottle fed because I simply couldn't produce enough milk for two and pumping was making me crazy.congrats - good luck and I wish you a speedy recovery from your surgery! :)

I can understand disappointment (things are not as I'd hoped and tried for) but not guilt (I willfully or with recklessness caused harm) about this of all things. People in general and moms in particular should start being more careful about which we feel and which we mean.

Anyone who would attempt to make a mother feel guilty about not breastfeeding because she needs to save her life (!) has a special slow turning spit awaiting her in a very hot place.

Anyhow I'd second the person who said buy a couple each of a few different bottles and see which feeds best. A minimum of little fiddly parts that are hard to set up, hard to clean, and easy to lose are important too.

I don't have any experience with bottles (although for what it's worth, everyone I know used/uses playtex dropins because they're super easy and are supposed to reduce gas or something: http://www.amazon.com/Playtex-Drop-Ins-Original-Newborn-Starter/dp/B000056HM5) but I just wanted to say that I think you're amazing for handling all this at once, and I wish you a speedy recovery and all the joy in the world.

Cookie, we have used Dr. Brown's with both kids. Big fan. No complaints, very little gas or spit ups. But I have heard tons of raves about Avent and Born Free, too! I wasn't a fan of drop ins for the difficulty seeing intake, but so many people swear by them.

I would avoid Dr. Brown's unless you find you truly need them for gas reduction (although it sounds like Playtex might be good for that as well). We got Dr. Brown's because they sounded nice (a doctor!) and the parts are such a pain. We ended up giving them up and going to Tommee Tippee or Avent.

I have only used Dr. Brown's. So I really can't compare, but I thought I'd add my two cents anyways. I HATE cleaning those bottles, so many nooks to clean on those things. If Avent is easier to clean and your LO likes it, I'd go with that.

Hi there....Avent bottles always leaked on me....it was such a pain. I LOVED Born Free bottles. They are expensive - but I think they are worth it. Good luck!! (And no guilt...a happy mommy is MUCH better than breast milk.)

Yeah, lots of parts with Dr. Brown's, but I'm used to it and never really used anything else besides trying a drop-in. But, you can put Dr. Browns in the dishwasher or, you can do what we do, which is a quick swish in soapy water and warm rinse, and then we use the microwave sterilizer. They come out great every time and we did that for a whole year with DS... I just replaced the n1pples for DD and the bottles are in great shape. Honestly, it takes me no time at all b/c I'm so used to it and we have a system. But, if Avent or Born Free have less parts, they may be worth it.

We used the avent with our DS and they were great. Also, they don't leak anymore because avent added one extra part to stop that (not a big deal like the dr. bown's). I have heard great things about born free as well.

Im also a fan of the Bornfree...both my girls use/d them and I tried about 6 different bottles. I disliked the avent because they always leaked on me, the drop in's you could never tell how much they were taking without a hassle of un-doing the top.

We use Dr. Browns, but DD only gets one bottle a day to practice for daycare. No problems so far. Be honest with yourself about whether you can stand to clean the bottles. I hate washing dishes!!! Not sure if we'll stick with them once she goes to daycare, but I think they can go in the dishwasher so maybe.

We used Avent, very easy to clean which was HUGE for us. Nothing worse than cleaning/assembling bottle parts when all you want to do is sleep!

But, I will echo what a few others have else said: Don't buy more than a few bottles before the baby comes. The baby may have his/her own ideas about what type of bottle/nipple will work and you may even have to go through several different brands before settling on one. I'd buy one or two bottles to start and once you figure out which ones you like then send your husband/mother/father/friend out to buy some more.

I also exclusively pump (almost 10 months now!) and we use Dr. Brown's. My baby has NEVER spit up and never had colic. We tried using the Drop-Ins for when we first started traveling but I hated them because I couldn't tell how much milk was in there (I had to measure in the Medela bottles and then transfer), and DS hated them too (sucked in too much air). The parts and pieces are a pain to wash but I got used to them. If my baby likes Dr. Brown's I'm not going to switch just because it's convenient for me to wash less parts.

We used playtex ventaire with DS and the drop-ins with DD. I much preferred the drop-ins. I would suggest not to stock up on one type or another until after your baby is born. I have several friends who had to try different types before they found the right kind for their baby.

Another plug for playtex drop-ins. They are sooo easy to use and makes feeding from any angle really easy as you can squeeze out all the air. I used the line of natralatch nipples and found them great. A cinch to clean to. Used the medela bags to steralize the nipples and then the bottles themselves went in the dishwasher.